BirdBrain Designs

Birdbrain

wedding rug hooking done, now for the corners

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I finished all the whipping on the wedding rug yesterday, so today was the day to complete the four corners. (Yes, I missed the 12 12 12 birthday and am now aiming for Christmas.) This photo shows the corner before the point is cut off. I stitch across and then cut off the excess to reduce bulk. Below is the corner all basted and ready for whipping. I do not baste the sides before whipping, but find it is essential to baste the mitred corner.

Here is the corner half done and the fourth picture is the finished corner. It’s not often that I do corners, perhaps three times a year and each time I have to relearn a bit of the process. That is why I find the corners turn out better and more alike if I complete the whipping first, then do all four corners one after the other.

And finally, to complete the corner story, here is a picture of the back of the rug. I like to roll the linen forward as I whip because it gives a nice clean finish on the underside of the rug.

handmade gifts

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Wendie recently did a post on handmade gifts. I think they are the best, and you just hope that the recipient senses the love and care that went into the gift, all the planning and then the hours completing the project. Well no doubts here. My great friend gave me this sketch recently–depicting a moment of our trip to Berlin and Paris. We had the best time, sketching our way along, absorbing that world in a way you can never do with just a camera. So this gift is kind of a loop back, a sketch from a photo of me taking a photo. But at the same time it captures the essence of our friendship and I treasure it.

christmas windows

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I was in Toronto yesterday to get some new leather. And although it was so mild I did not need mittens, it was winter in the windows of the Bay. The Christmas windows on Queen and Yonge Streets in Toronto are a tradition and it is a delight to stand among the families, the children peering over the velvet rope to catch every detail.

Our family has had a love affair with Hudson Bay Blankets as long as I can remember. My parents bought me a red one over thirty years ago and, as the family story goes, braved icy roads to make sure it was there for Christmas. I had to include the picture of the mice sleeping under these iconic blankets–sorry I could not capture their chests rising and falling as they were in the window!

chair seat

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When I was designing the wedding rug I made 3 chair seats to try out some ideas. This one is the closest to the final rug, but still miles away. You can see the others in the photoblog on the right side of this page. It is a great idea to make samples, and I don’t think it is something rug hookers do too often. I learned so much from this one– that I did not want a light background for the rug, sky or not, and that I had to figure out a different way to do the grass and that I had to come up with a border idea which would not take away from the central motif. I did have fun with this, etching hearts and Carissa’s special birthday, 12 12 12, in the sky. And the idea of the birds on the roof was hatched in this piece. So it is related to the wedding rug. And lucky–because this is for Carissa’s birthday along with the comb-back rocker it was made for. What great design and paint this old chair has! And bonus — it is comfortable. Judging from the plane marks on the underside of the plank seat and its general construction details, we figure it has been around since the mid-19th Century. We hope it continues to provide many years of comfort and pleasure yet. 

another canoe

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I love the sculptural quality of a canoe before it is finished…the iconic shape so simple and beautiful. My husband makes two or three of these each year–this is number 20.

hook-in

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Yesterday  I was at a hooking gathering with some wonderful people who are organizing next year’s OHCG Annual in Kingston. There was lots of talk about the workshops being offered at the Annual–and they sound great. There is even one for new hookers!

And this was the view outside the window! With such beauty outside and such warmth inside, I managed to get lots of whipping done–whipping interspersed with eating and great conversation of course. And I came away with a bag of burlap and hooks to take to Kenya for my rug hooking project there. Thank you everyone for your generosity and inspiration.

hooking done, now the whipping

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I have an antique swift, from my weaving days–Canadian, 1860’s, handmade, a little bit worn and missing one of its sticks (much the way I feel these days!). I don’t use the swift much any more, just when I am getting ready to whip my rugs. I like Briggs and Little yarns from New Brunswick the best; I overdyed this skein to give some slight variation to the colour. Getting from the broken swift to a ball of wool takes patience, but it is good preparation for whipping, which takes LOTS of patience. Some rug hookers hate the process of whipping a rug, but I love it. It is repetitive and meditative and puts me in close contact with the rug and my thoughts.I think I have said before that I whip all four sides first and then do the corners. It postpones the toughest part and doing the corners one after the other ensures that they will look similar. I don’t baste the sides, but I do make a careful mitre on each corner and baste it firmly before I whip. This is Carissa’s birthday week and I am still optimistic that I will have the rug ready for her visit on Saturday. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

the blues

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I have had orders for these several of these small shoulder bags with a pocket on the front. They were originally designed for Jan who works at my bank and likes a small shoulder bag to hold the essentials for her work. They are also great when you are going out and don’t want more than your keys, your cards and your phone. I had some of this luscious blue left so made a few bags up, and still had enough for a pouch which I lined in waterproof basque fabric. I think it worked out well.

christmas cake time

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My mother brought these tier pans, made by her father, when she came to  Canada over 65 years ago and they have baked Christmas cakes every year since then. My favourite is the Laura Secord Elegant Light Fruit Cake which, luckily, needs no ‘ripening’ time–finally found the time this afternoon to get the cakes mixed and in the oven.

the power of art and love

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These days I am completing a few orders which I will photograph and post soon. And also working on the wedding rug which is so close to completion–fingers crossed it will be ready for 12/12/12! In the meantime here are some links that will inspire you.

The first is the promotional video for Danny Gregory’s new book, A Kiss Before You Go. Danny’s first book, The Creative Licence, gave me the inspiration to start sketching and, like many others, I have followed his drawings and writing over the years, absorbing the lessons. His new book is a beautiful testament to the power of love and art. I read it in one sitting.

My friend Nora sent me this video about children in Paraguay making music: http://vimeo.com/52711779.  It reminded my of the Kinshasa Symphony which I saw at the local doc fest last year. Both of these films are powerful documentaries, again about the power of love and art, and both have particular resonance for me. I am returning to rural Kenya in January. Right now I am working with local school children and rug hookers to gather art and hooking supplies to take with me. I will be teaching school again and working with adults in the community centre–hooking rugs! I met Heather Ritchie last year. Heather has been teaching rug hooking in Gambia for some time–and she inspired me to teach hooking in Matangwe, the small village I will be staying in for a month. We will begin with the women making rugs for themselves, but I hope we can turn our efforts into a small enterprise.

So this morning, as I make my way to my studio, I am thinking about the power of love and art–and the importance of sharing it. I hope that you have caught a little of the power too.